Golf club



M. B. REACH ET AL GOLF CLUB Filed May l2, 1926 I, lnlilnsirm A TTORNE Y.

Patentedl Oct'. 5l, 1926.

UNITED STATES 1,601,770 4 PATENT OFFICE.

IIILTON B. REACH AND WILLIAM F. BEACH, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, AS-

SIGNORS T A. G. SPALDIN'G & B'BS., 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

GOLF

CLUB.

.Application led May 12, 1926. Serial No. 108,645.

Our present invention relates to improve# l0 part of professionals who would wish tov supply custom made clubs if they attempted the assembly in their own shop. Among the objects of this invention it is desired to provide an assembly that will permit the professionals to purchase their clubs in a semi finished state and make them to order, and also to permit the professionals to replace a broken head or broken shaft from stock in their own shop without having to send the l0 club back to the factory for repairs.

The common practice of assembling tubular metal shafts to wooden heads is to pass a screw through the shaft into the head at a point approximate to that shown at Fig. 1 l and midway between this point and the top of the hosel the hosel and shaft are bored through and another screw inserted tokprevent the metal shaft working in its wooden socket. In this boring operation, l when the drill breaksthrough the outside wall of the steel shaft |it throws up a burr which becomes imbedded in the wood and in an effort to dislodge the broken piece of shaft the head is frequently split and ruined. Our invention includes a novel method of procedure and novel features of construction and arrangement and combinations of parts hereinafter described, the nature and scope ofthe invention being defined`by the claims I0 appended hereto.

Fig. 1 is a part sectional view and elevation of the wooden headed type of club.

Fig. 2 is the longitudinal section of a mbdicatiolf.

Fig. 3 is a view of a detail.

In proceeding according to our invention and referring specificallyto Fig. 1, the hosel 1*? of the f club' head 1 isgprovided with a bore 1b which is tapered preferably through'- ll out its entire. length with the larger end of the bore at the base ofthe club, or, in other words, the bore is tapered upwardly. Within'this bore we place a sleeve 2 having its external wall upwardly tapered to correl spend to the internal bore Vof the hosel and -compressibility without elasticity that will lvided with a coating of solventofgits celluhaving an inner bore which is tapered downwardly and reverselyto ,its outer wall.

The entire bore of the sleeve conforms in taper to the tapered end of club shaft 3 whlch is also tapered downwardly. The sleeve 2 may be made of different materials with satisfactory results, referably a material which has qlalities of) cohesion adapted to adhere to the metal shaft or 'a quality of provide a snug driving t. In one of the successful forms of our experiments we have made the sleeve of a cellulose compound of pyroxolin nature sold under the tradename of liberloid With this construction the sleeve is insertedfrom the base of the head and forced -irmlyinto place being anchored by a screw passing. through at 4. The sleeve ,is of sufficient length to project above the upper edge 3x of the hosel. The sleeve is wrapped with a pyroxolinmaterial fora distance that brings this wrapping above the upper' end 3y of the sleeve. In making the assembly the surfaceof the steel shaft or the interior surface ofthe sleeve ,is prolose compound and inserted in the leeve,the solvent causing Contactin surfaces of the material of the shaft an the material of the sleeve to unite in a homo eneous whole. A wrapping of fberloid is t en start-ed at point 5 which unites with the upper end `of the wooden hosel, and passing beyond that, unites with the -protruding portion of the sleeve, and then unites with the fberloid coating on the steel shaft and forms a complete union between these three surfaces.

The ordinary method of finishing of a golf club at this point-is to use a wrapping of linen thread. We consider the use of berloid much superior in that it may be extended up the shaft for a' distance to provide a ainst any hitting ofthe shaft with the s orter length iron headed clubs. This is an important detail because Caddies and playersfrequently drop a bagful of clubs on the ground and ifthe two wooden clubs happen to lie on the bottom the weight of six or seven iron heads can do considerabledamage to the shaft.'

Another form of the invention is' to provide a sleeve of soft metal preferably of aluminum alloy, which is compressible and non-elastic and into which the shaft may be l driven home, being anchored by any suit- 11 able means. One orm `of anchorage may be that shown in the detail in Figs. 2 and 3 where the end of the shaft is slotted as at 3 Jfor a small distance, threaded on the inside and provided with a tapered expanding screw 6 that will eXpa-nd the end of the shaft against an enlarged tapered bore 2X at the lower end of the sleeve 2a. lt will be seen that while in the two forms described the sleeves are of different material, the essence of the assembly is the same. ln each case the professional may have a stock vof wood heads which are bored to fit the tapered sleeve and this tapered sleeve adjusts itself to any variation that occurs in the original bore through atmospheric changes. llt the bore in the hosel has enlarged somewhat the sleeve is driven home and screwed at that point. lt, however, the original bore has shrunken in its dimensions the sleeve is driven in not quite so far and anchored with a screw at that point, any-protruding portion at the base ot the club being filed away. Such sleeves also adapt themselves to the slight variations which occur in the diameters of the several shafts, and in case of any loosening in the it of the shaft and head due to the impact of blows and vibrations the screw in the sleeve may be withdrawn, the sleeve driventighter into the bore of therhosel, the original screw holeJ plugged and a new one made'locating the sleeve 1n itsv new position. rll`he iberloid substitute Jfor the linen thread whipping or wrapping is desirable in both forms of construction.

lt will be obvious that if desired the fiberloid sleeve of Figui might be provided `with a flared lower end for use in connection with a split shaft as in Fig. 2, or in other words, that the sleeve of Fig. 2 might be made of iberloid instead of aluminum alloy as described.

lvVe claim:

l. A golf club having a hosel provided with an upwardly tapered bore, a sleeve inserted in Said bore and having its exterior of a corresponding taper, said sleeve having its inner wall downwardly tapered, and a club shaft having a downwardly tapered ex- 'premity inserted in said sleeve with a drive it.

2. A. gol club according to claim l in which the sleeve is of compressible nonelastic material in its relation to the shaft.

3. A golf club having a hosel provided with an upwardly tapering bore, a sleeve of compressible non-elastic material inserted in said bore and having its exterior of a taper corresponding to the bore of the hosel, said sleeve having its inner wall tapering downwardly, and a club shaft having a downwardly tapered extremity inserted in said sleeve with a drive fit.

Il. A golt1 club having a hosel with an upwardly tapered bore, a sleeve of iberloid seated in the hosel, having its exterior tapered to correspond to the bore of the hosel and having a downwardly tapered bore, and a shaft seatedin the here of the sleeve and tapered downwardly to fit said bore, substantially as described.

ln testimony whereof, we affix our signatures.

- MILTON B. REACH.

WLLIAM F. REACH. 

